The Motivation Called Revenge
by the-dark-knightess
Summary: Sequel to Betrayal and Desolation. Elena Romanov and Victor Creed's drama is not over yet. In this story of murder, revenge, sorrow, and yes, mushy emotional love scenes, the two lovers overcome a huge loss and a rift in their relationship.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Here's the beginning of my sequel to Betrayal and Desolation! I know it's kind of slow in coming, and I apologize. I have a few other stories going too and I'm trying to prioritize. It would help to read Betrayal and Desolation if you haven't already. This won't make sense if you don't. Updating is going to be slow too and I beg forgiveness in advance. If you have any questions, feel free to message me!**

It was about 3 months after all that had happened on Stryker's Island. Victor and I had gone to Central Park that day and regrouped. We'd decided that is would be safe enough to go up to my cabin in Canada, so that's what we did. Gambit had made contact about a month and a half ago and said that my sister, Nesha, had safely met a Professor Charles Xavier and was now in his care at some mutant institution in New York. He also gave us the news that Logan had lost his memory. Stryker had shot him in the head with adamantium bullets. This news resulted in a fight with Victor because he had been the one that had held me back from going to help that day. All in all, however, life was normal…ish.

I had taken up my job at the thrift store I had owned before all had gone down. People asked questions, but I avoided them. Victor laid low in fear of coming across one of the few people who had seen him when he had been up here wreaking havoc. In all honesty, we were in hiding, but we made the best of it. Nothing could equal the feeling I had when I came home to Victor burning something on the stove. A huge grin would split my face and we would fight down the flames together. It was perfect. I couldn't help but wish that he had just come with me all those years ago in Africa. We could've had this life long before now. But I was grateful that we got to have it at all. It was all I ever wanted.

………………………………

One particularly chilly evening, Victor and I were cuddled up on the couch in front of the blazing fireplace. He had an arm around me and was absentmindedly rubbing my shoulder. "How was work?" he asked.

"Fine," I chuckled.

"Why do you laugh?"

"That just seems like a far too mundane question to have just come out of your mouth."

He smiled. "You're right. Forgive me for trying to be too normal."

I snickered and laid my head on his chest. "Is today Friday?" I yawned.

"Yes."

"Good! No work tomorrow."

"How is that guy you hired working out?"

"He's a great help. I'm glad he has no weekend life, so I can."

Victor chuckled deeply. "Me too. Did you, by chance, remember that tomorrow is our anniversary?"

"No," I stated bluntly. "Is it out The Day We Met anniversary, The Day We Got Together anniversary, or The Day We Reunited anniversary? I know you like to celebrate all 3 and confuse me, so I'm just clarifying."

"The day we met."

"Ah." I let my mind time travel back to that day in 1939 New York City. We had immediately hated each other. He too had apparently reminisced because he started quietly laughing to himself. "What are you remembering?" I asked, almost reluctantly.

"When Jimmy and Nesha accidentally left us behind. I don't know what made me grab your hand when we ran after them. I just remember wishing you hadn't pulled it away when you did…even though I loathed you."

"Yeah, I remember you staring at where our hands had been. That was a very awkward moment."

"It really was."

I sighed, "I miss our respective siblings. When it was the four of us, nothing could stand in our way."

"Jimmy doesn't remember that we are siblings."

"I know, and that makes me indescribably sad. He doesn't remember anything about us. At least he won't be plagued by war dreams anymore."

"True. Speaking of, have you had anymore of those flashbacks since the day we hunter the Summers boy?"

"No, thank God. They scare me." I yawned again, the heat from the fire combined with Victor's body heat making me drowsy. "I think I'm going to bed. You coming?"

"I'll be in in a bit. Wait up for me."

"Then what's the point of even going? I should just stay here."

"Well…that's true. So…off we go." In an extremely unpredicted jolt of movement, I found myself in his arms, and we were racing through the hall to our bedroom. I couldn't breathe until I was safely deposited on the bed. Finally, I sighed in relief.

"You can't just walk places can you?" I demanded.

He grinned and crawled atop me. "Walking wastes time." He kissed me then and all my annoyance melted away. As the night progressed, our clothing melted away as well.

Over the next few weeks, I became starkly aware of the fact that my period was running late…very late. I didn't mention it to Victor. I didn't know anything yet and there was no use getting him…well, whatever he'd be. Reluctantly, I picked up a couple pregnancy tests from the nearest Walmart and rushed home. It was the day Victor went hunting, and I wanted to do this alone.

The dread, the fear, and the anger at the sight of the word pregnant engulfed me. I threw everything away and grabbed the spare. Same response. I was very close to breaking everything in the house, but somehow, that element of restraint that Nesha had always been able to utilize won out and I simply sat on the couch and stared into space.

The sun was just starting to go down when Victor returned with a sack full of venison. He threw it all in the deep freezer in the utility room, then came in and started washing his hands in the kitchen sink. "Hey," he called in greeting. When I didn't respond, he turned and leaned on the counter to dry his hands. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

I blinked a few times and began, "We have a problem, Victor."

"What kind of problem?"

I slowly turned my head to look at him. "I'm pregnant."

His eyes narrowed and he froze. "Wait…you're what?"

"Don't make me say it again!!"

He tentatively sat the towel down on the counter and took a few slow breaths. "Ok. Ok, we…"

"I don't want it," I interrupted.

He stared at me, shocked. "Ok, baby, we need to talk about this. Don't make rash decisions." He quickly crossed from the kitchen to the family room and sat down in front of me on the couch. He reached for my hand, but I pulled it out of his reach. "Elena…please think through this."

"I can't handle kids. I've never been good at it. Between the two of us, we'll traumatize the child or accidentally kill it in the crossfire of one of our fights."

"You don't know that!"

"But I know us! I know you…and me. I can't bring a life into the world unless I know I can care for it."

"But that's why you would make a good mother! That's why you should give this a chance. If we can't handle it, we'll put it up for adoption." The steadiness of his voice and the want in it caused me to reconsider the situation. I looked at him. His eyes were begging me. I broke down into tears and dove into his arms. He stroked my hair, quietly murmuring, "Shh. It's ok. It'll be ok."

"I don't know if I'll be able to do this, Victor," I sobbed.

"Hey, I know you. You've endured through far worse things."

I laughed wearily. "Ho do you know how bad this is going to be?"

"How bad can a kid be?"

I managed to forget about the fact that I was pregnant for a few days until the morning sickness set in. One rather brutal morning, I was puking my guts out and Victor was kneeling beside me, holding back my hair. The upchucking subsided for a glorious moment and I leaned my head against the cold bathtub. My entire body was quivering and all I wanted to do was sleep. Victor brushed my hair out of my face and murmured, "I'm sorry, baby."

I batted his hand away half-heartedly and weakly smiled. "This is all your fault," I joked.

"Well, I won't take full credit, but I'll take 85% of it."

I chuckled which disturbed my stomach again. I had no idea what source my body was pulling from because I hadn't eaten for a couple days, but despite that, crap was coming out. I moaned as my innards tangled and vaulted around. Finally, after and hour on the bathroom floor, I stopped puking long enough to leave. Victor gently lifted me into his arms and took me back to the bedroom. He distributed me on the bed and went to go get a wet wash cloth. He came back and softly brushed my face with the cloth. The cool water felt remarkably good on my sweaty forehead. "Thanks," I whispered.

"Mhm." We remained silent after than and within a few minutes, I was finally asleep.

The first month or so went in the same manner, but eventually I got to go back to work. That went on for another six months. By then, I was avidly annoyed by my enlarging midsection. Victor would walk past the bathroom door to see me staring in the mirror with a deep set frown on my face. Usually he laughed and moved on, but today, he came in and wrapped his arms around me from behind. "You look fine."

"I look like Dukes."

He snorted and laughed into my shoulder. "Nothing close! You females are way too hard on yourselves." I continued frowning at myself in the mirror. "Hey," he spun me around in his arms so he could look me in the eyes, "if it makes you feel any better, I don't think you've ever been sexier."

I fought a smile and ultimately lost. "That's what they all say."

"Because it's true! There is nothing more attractive than knowing the girl you love has a part of you growing inside."

"How do I know you mean that?"

"You can smell if I'm lying…but if that doesn't do it, this should." He kissed me deeply.

When he broke it off, I took a deep breath and said, "Yeah, I think that did it." He smiled and hugged me close, his face resting between my neck and shoulder. I relished the closeness. Any kind of contact with him gave me a sort of high that carried me through the rest of the day.

"I love you," he purred against me neck. I shivered from the vibration.

"I love you too, you overgrown cat." A playful growl rumbled out of him. He looked at my face, feigning insult. "You know it's true," I finished with a grin.

He shrugged. "On occasion."

I left his embrace and walked out to the hallway. I chuckled and muttered, "Meow mix."

"Where did you hear that?!" he demanded.

"Nesha. She said Wade came up with it."

Victor nodded ill-temperedly. "That he did."

"I like it! I think it's cute."

"Well, maybe from you it would be ok, but Wade…no."

"You know, that's a very amusing scenario. Picturing Wade calling you that."

"I don't think he found it quite so amusing. He never said it to my face again after the first time."

"Smart guy. I miss him…and John…and Bradley. I really do. They were great guys. God damned Stryker," I snarled, suddenly pissed. "He ruined everything!"

Victor quickly walked up and placed a hand on my stomach. "Not everything," he said soothingly.

I closed my eyes and calmed down. "You're right. He can't ruin this."

**2 months later**

I woke up because and extreme pain had shot through my body. I laid there a moment, unsure of what had happened. Then it happened again and I became aware of moisture on my sheets. "Shit," I muttered. I got up and looked at the pinkish-red spot on the blue cloth. "Shit," I said again. "Victor! Wake up!"

"Why?" he mumbled.

"Because I'm not driving myself to the hospital! Get your ass up!"

"The hospital? What's…….OH!" He practically fell out of bed in his haste.

I snarled when another round of pain hit. I grumbled, "I feel as big as a battleship and now the enemy ship is shooting at me."

Victor stopped and chuckled for a minute. "That's a good one, babe."

"Does it look like I'm trying to be funny?!"

"Oh…right. Sorry." He grabbed me up and took me to the truck.

I said, "Good job. Now, go put a shirt on."

"Jesus," he sighed as he ran back inside. I couldn't help but laugh at the poor guy. He was scared out of his mind. Another wave pf pain hit and my fists clenched to the point that my claws extended. Uh oh. Needed to avoid that once we were in public. I planned to explain away Victor's claws by telling them he was shooting a movie about humans degrading into cats and I had to call him off set for this. It was approximately 6am and the sun was just rising. Canada was extremely quiet in the early morning hours and it made my growls seem all the louder. Victor came running out of the house again and jumped in the driver's seat. He had managed to remember the keys and I almost felt proud of his for it. The engine rumbled to life and very quickly we were off.

"We never discussed a name," I said through the eye-crossing pain.

"No we didn't. Any you prefer?"

"I dunno. We don't even know what gender it is. I'm sure they're going to get onto us for such pitiful pre-natal care."

"Like you give a crap. Nothing should be wrong. It was attached to your body and should've had healing benefits."

"True." I quietly groaned. "I don't suppose I should bother with an epidural. It probably won't work."

"Probably not." We were on the main road now and about ¼ of the way to town by that point.

"What names to you like, Victor?"

"Um…I like Danielle and Magic for girls."

"Magic is cool! Argh!" I doubled over in pain again.

Victor took one of my hands and squeezed. "Hold on, babe. We're almost there."

"Almost doesn't cut it! Boy names, come on. Keep my mind off the pain."

"Ok, ok, um…Jared, Andrew, Adam, John, Paul, George, Ringo."

I burst into laughter and couldn't stop for a minute. "Ringo most definitely," I told him.

"I thought so too. What's not amazing about a drummer with a huge nose?"

"Ringo is by far the best Beatle."

"Well, John's up there too."

"We digress!! For a boy, I was thinking Joshua, Cameron, or Alexander."

"I like Alexander."

"So, Magic for a girl and Alexander for a boy?"

"Sure."

"Your last name?"

"Is that what you want?"

"Hmm…Magic Creed, Alexander Creed. Magic Romanov, Alexander Romanov. If it's a girl, we go with Romanov, a boy, Creed."

"Alright…of course, you could just marry me and we wouldn't have to worry about it."

"I'm in labor, you nitwit! I am not going to marry you in a hospital for convenience's sake! I need some sense of romance in that particular event."

"But you will marry me?"

"That was the stupidest and most lame ass way to ask, but yes. I will marry you. Just not today," I growled through gritted teeth. We were maybe five minutes away from the hospital and the contractions were growing closer and closer together. "Victor, I have a small requirement if I'm going through with this."

"And that is?"

"DON'T EVER TOUCH ME AGAIN!!!!"

He laughed loudly and whipped the truck into the hospital parking lot. We sped to the maternity ward doors and skidded to a stop. Victor jumped out his door and ran around to my side. I pushed the door open and he gingerly lifted me out of the truck then jogged to the building doors. It wasn't busy inside. Honestly, it was rural Canada. Just how busy could it be? The nurse behind the counter glanced up as we came in. She jumped up and grabbed me a wheelchair. Victor sat me in it and answered the nurse's questions in a gradually shakier and shakier voice. Finally, she wheeled me towards a delivery room. Victor was simply following behind, wringing his hands and muttering unintelligible questions and concerns. The nurse and I ignored him.

They accepted me into a delivery room and started prepping me. The pain was becoming overbearing and all those people's hands doing something to my body was very quickly becoming annoying. Victor had stayed out of the way until he noticed how overwhelmed I was becoming. He pushed through the bustling nurses and leaned over me, totally blocking my view of the chaos. "How you doing, baby?"

"I hurt, I'm annoyed, too many people are touching me, and there's a little bugger inside that wants out."

"Hang on tight. It'll be over soon."

"I know, but soon isn't quick enough." He smiled and kissed my forehead. Finally, a doctor showed up and told me to push. I wasn't sure how to go about that, so I experimented with a few different muscle contractions. I found one that worked, but it hurt like hell.

"That's it!" the doctor encouraged.

I groaned. Why was I causing myself pain? I kept pushing, but I begged myself, pass out. Just pass out. After a good 20 minutes of pushing and groaning and begging somebody to make the pain stop, my vision started blurring. As everything started black, I vaguely heard a small wail, and then I was out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**** Sorry it took me so long to update! Internet access is sparingly handed out in my life. And recently my chemistry class has taken all the internet time I've been given. I'll be so happy when that's gone. So, yeah, here's chapter 2. Chapter 3 will come along sooner or later. Thank you for your patience and for reading! I love my fans and readers! By the way, I always appreciate reviews.**

I heard a small beeping to my right. Medical equipment, I deduced. There was an IV in my hand and the feel of the needle made me shudder. I blinked my eyes open and squinted against the harsh fluorescent lights. I took a deep breath and realized that Victor was in the room, but there was an unfamiliar scent as well. I slowly turned my head to my left where Victor stood, gingerly holding a little blue bundle. "Hi," I said quietly.

"Hi," he murmured back.

I pushed myself to a sitting position and inquired, "Who's that?"

Victor lowered the bundle to my open arms and sat in a chair beside me. "That's our son."

I gazed down into the little round face and immediately thought, that's Victor's nose…and Victor's eyes…and Victor's ears…my god it's mini Victor. "He's perfect," I said with a smile.

"And you said you didn't want it."

"Shut up," I chuckled. I gently stroked my son's cheek with my index finger. He looked up at me with curious, steely-blue eyes.

"Hey," Victor whispered, "I love you."

I looked up at him and my heart wanted to burst with everything I felt for him. Yeah…it was cheesy, but it was true. "I love you too. Oh, and I changed my mind."

"About what?"

"You can touch me all you want." He grinned and leaned in for a quick kiss. Little Alexander made a small cooing noise and I pulled away. "He's right, Victor. Not in front of the kids."

Victor sighed and said, "That's going to suck."

"We'll manage. We are ferals, hear us roar."

"Literally."

I laughed. "Exactly!"

We stayed at the hospital for a couple days. Finally, we were allowed to go home. They were all a little flabbergasted by my remarkable recovery and whenever they mentioned it, Victor had to hide a smirk. The day we left, I carried Alexander out to the truck and Victor chivalrously opened the door for me. I slid in and waited as he shut mine and went over to his and got in. After he got in, he put the keys in the ignition, but stopped and just sat there. "What?" I asked.

"I'm about to drive my son and the most beautiful girl in the world back to my house."

"My house, thank you very much. I don't recall you hanging with a bunch of lumberjacks for a few weeks, nailing logs together and getting a million splinters in every inch of your body."

He chuckled. "Nor do I. It would've been fun though."

"Fun," I scoffed. "Logan made it fun. The rest of the guys were a little creepy."

"Yeah, well, Jimmy doesn't recall the even either."

"Don't remind me. I miss him. He would've been a great uncle to Alex."

"We're calling him Alex?"

"I am. Is that ok?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I just didn't know. Anyways, speaking of uncles, are you going to track down Nesha and tell her she's an aunt?" He started the truck and made his way to the highway as I considered.

Finally, I shook my head. "No. I have no idea where to start looking for her."

"Gambit said she was with that Xavier guy."

"That was almost a year ago. Who knows now."

"She'd want to know. And you promised you'd find her again."

"I know…I just don't think now's the time."

He shrugged. "Whatever, Elena. She's your sister."

"When I marry you, she'll be yours too."

"Oh, joy," he muttered with a grin.

I laughed and answered, "She'd punch you if she were here."

"That's what I like about her. She's not afraid to act. She's so much like you in that aspect."

I nodded and fell into thoughtful silence. I stared out the window at the trees flashing by. A cold shiver went down my back as I remembered dashing through similar trees in a desperate attempt to reach Logan before Victor did. The memory of the anger and fear that pulsed through my veins that night resurfaced and I shuddered. Victor glanced over. "You ok, baby?"

"Yeah…" I responded vaguely.

He looked at me again, a little more concerned this time. "What are you thinking about?"

"Racing you up here after…Bradley."

"Oh…did I ever tell you that I flew up here?"

A small smile spread across my face. "No you didn't, but Kayla enlightened me."

"Hmm."

"Victor, why didn't you like her?"

"I dunno. She got on my nerves."

I could smell the slight deception and suddenly, I understood. "You didn't like her because she tamed Logan all the more. You felt like she was taking him away from you. You won't admit it, but that's what it was." Victor's gaze had gone somewhat stony. "Don't be mad, Victor. I'm just stating a fact."

"I'm not mad. I'm just…reluctant to admit you're right."

"Aww," I purred as I reached over and ran my fingers through the hair right above his ear. He leaned into my fingers a little and sighed contentedly. Alexander shifted a bit, so I moved my arm back to support him. Victor smiled softly and silently re-concentrated on the road. We spent the rest of the trip home in comfortable silence.

It was hard to adjust to taking turns rocking Alexander back to sleep at ungodly hours of the night. Victor took it rather well, but I groaned just about every time it was my turn. He always laughed at me. Sometimes he got up and sat in the nursery with me. It was remarkable watching our son grow at alarming rates. We became just as human as anyone else when it came to him. We talked all baby-like and we kissed little bumps to make them all better…if the Elena and Victor from, say, 1945 could see their future…they would probably rather kill themselves.

Before we knew it, a year had passed and I was stressing over a first birthday party. Victor was being a typical guy and was acting all nonchalant and uncaring. "It's just a birthday, Elena."

"But it's his first! You only get one of those!"

"You only get one of every birthday."

"Shut up! I know that! This one's important!"

"Well, it's not like we have any friends to invite over, or anyone to impress."

"What if he remembers it? I want it to be a good one."

"Do you remember your first birthday?"

"Well…no, but that was over 50 years ago!"

"Did you EVER remember your first birthday?"

Right about then, Alexander came crawling into the room. I picked him up and kissed his cheek. "Daddy's being a party pooper, Alex. What should we do with him, huh?" Victor gave me a sarcastic look and Alex giggled. That lightened the mood completely and Victor smiled. He came over and wrapped his arms around us. Alex started playing with his beard and accidentally pulled.

"Ouch! You little tike!" Victor grabbed him and started to spin around, holding him up like and airplane. I smiled, and before Victor could stop me, I started working on a cake. That night, we celebrated Alex's first birthday and I was content which kept Victor content.

One day, about 2 years later, Victor was out hunting and Alex and I were outside playing. Victor hadn't taken the truck, so when I heard and engine approaching, I was automatically on the defensive. "Alex, come here!" He obediently ran to my side. "What is it, Mom?"

"I'm not sure yet. Just stay close to me."

"Ok."

As we waited for the vehicle, I ran my fingers though his close-cut, curly brown locks that were so similar to his father's. He was a brilliant 3 year old. He talking exceeded the usual level of kids his age and he was so bright. I had already worked on some reading with him. It was slow going, but it was going.

The vehicle topped the hill in our driveway and I focused in on the driver. "No way!" I shrieked in joy. "Remy LeBeau!" I cried as I waved. He stopped his car and got out. I ran over and hugged him. I'm not sure why, but I hugged him.

He laughed and said, "Good to see you too, Miss Elena."

"Would you stop calling me that? Just Elena."

"Sorry. The miss adds to my southern charm."

"I already know you're charming. Stop trying to impress me."

"Alright, alright. Fair enough." He eyes then fell on Alex. "And who is this?"

I gestured my son forward and said, "This is Alexander."

"Yours?"

"Mhm."

LeBeau knelt and said, "Hello, Alexander. I'm Remy, but you can call me Gambit, ok? That's what all my friends call me…well, except your mother here." Alex smiled shyly and held onto my leg. LeBeau stood back up and said, "He's a good resemblance to the man I assume is his father."

"Of you're assuming Victor Creed, then you're right."

"Yep. Where is his father?"

"Out hunting, and I suggest you be gone before he comes back."

"He's not still mad that I escaped out from under his nose, is he?"

"Did you really? I figured he was gone when you escaped."

"Nope. I will admit he was leaving, but still."

"Well, if he was leaving on a hunt, he would've been focused on that."

"I know. So I slipped out right under his preoccupied nose."

I grinned. "Then good for you. He needs to be humbled occasionally. He can get to be a bit pig-headed."

LeBeau snorted. "Just a bit."

"So, as overjoyed as I am to see a friendly and familiar face, why are you here?"

"I just came to visit. I was in the area and I was wondering how my Russian lady friend was doing. It seems, by the look of this fine boy, that you've been well."

"Very. How about you? Been in any fun heists lately?"

He shrugged. "Fun for the time, not so much afterwards. It's a very interesting occupation: a thief. It doesn't do great as an icebreaker. 'So, what do you do?' 'Oh, I'm a professional stealer.' Yeah, not great."

I chuckled. "I can't imagine it would be."

Alex lightly tugged on my shirt. "Mommy?"

"What, buddy?"

"Can I go play now?"

"Yes." He ran off. "Stay in the yard!" I called.

"Can I ask you a question, Elena?" LeBeau inquired.

"Considering you just did, I assume you can."

"Why won't you call my Gambit?"

"I don't like to rely on people's mutation to identify them."

"I understand, but I must beg that you make and exception in my case. Please."

I made a face of slight dislike and told him, "Fine. Gambit it is."

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome. Do you want to come inside? We've got some Coke and that infernal beer Victor likes so much."

"No, I can't. I've got to get going. Is there anything you need?"

"No. Thanks though."

"Sure. You take care of yourself, Elena. You hear me?"

"I hear you, Gambit. Don't get yourself put in jail. If you do, though, call me. I'll bail and/or break you out."

"I'm much obliged, cherie. Good bye."

"Bye." I waved as he got in his car and drove away.

After Gambit left, I found myself feeling lonely. He and Nesha were my only surviving connection to my past. I wasn't sure if I should miss the early days. They were bloody and dark, but the days before Team X…living in NYC with Victor, Logan, and Nesha…those were the days I missed.

Later that evening, Victor came rather moodily in the door. I was on the couch reading a magazine and Alex was playing with blocks on the floor. "How'd it go?" I asked.

"I snagged a few bucks," Victor answered.

"So why do you sound so irritated?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

It bothered me more that he blew it off than it would have is he had ranted about it. "Victor…what is it? You never just blow things off."

He washed his hands, then came and sat on the couch. "Really, baby, it's not important. I'll get over it."

I shut my magazine and looked intensely at him. "You're hiding something."

He gave me a slight glare and lowly threatened, "Leave it, Elena."

"No. If you're in a bad mood, it might be my fault and I don't want you hiding that from me."

"It's not you."

"Then what is it?"

"Just…just leave me alone for a bit," he said, annoyed. He got up and walked towards our bedroom. For whatever reason, his avoiding the question had annoyed me enough that I got up and followed.

"Don't you walk away from me, Victor Creed!" Telling him what to do never went over well, and this time was no exception. He snarled and whipped around, catching my writs and holding tight.

"When I tell you to leave me alone, I mean it!" he yelled.

"And when I tell you not to walk away from me, I mean it too!" I yelled back.

"Why can't you just drop it?"

"Because we can't afford to have secrets! We both know when the other is lying and it's going to tear us apart if we don't be honest about stuff!"

"But there are some things that don't need to be shared. We all have some secrets. Things we're ashamed of, or things that would put another in danger if they knew…" he trailed off.

"So, are you saying you're in danger?"

"No!"

I moved closer and desperately said, "Let me help you! If there is something that you're in trouble for, we can figure it out together."

"I don't need help," he said before turning and walking away.

"Oh, you're right," I called after him. "You're too damn pig-headed to need help!" That did it. He spun on his heel and leapt at me, claws out and flying. I extended mine and went on the defensive. We ended up vaulting into the kitchen. I tripped over a rug and that gave Victor the advantage he needed to wrap a hand around my throat.

He had me suspended in the air, his grip tightening, when suddenly the fire flared dangerously and Alex screamed, "STOP, DADDY!" Both of us froze and our heads swiveled around to look at him. He was standing in the middle of the living room, silhouetted by the fire which was pulsing in the fireplace. "Put Mommy down!" he commanded. Victor slowly lowered me to the floor, dumbfounded.

I turned my body to face Alex and said, "It's ok, Alex. I'm fine now." He had fearful yet defiant tears rolling down his face, and his whole body was shaking. I glanced behind him and noticed the fire doing the same quivery motion. It took me a while to realize the gravity of that fact. When it hit me, I wanted to faint. "My god…" I gasped. We had triggered his mutation…he was only 3 years old! "Alex, come here, baby," I said with my arms held out. He ran to me and I picked him up in a tight hug. "Don't be scared. It's alright," I soothed while stroking his hair.

"Why were you and Daddy fighting?" he asked meekly.

The fire died down a good deal and I answered, "Sometimes, Mommy and Daddy let themselves get a little too mad and we fight. We don't mean it."

"But you hurt each other!"

"I know. That was very wrong of us. I'm sorry you saw that." I turned towards Victor and asked for help with my expression. I didn't know what else to tell him.

Victor held out his arms and said, "Come on, tiger. I'm going to tuck you in, and we're gonna talk." Alex reached out and let Victor take him. They walked down the hall to his room and I shakily walked to the couch and sat down.

About half and hour later, Victor came back and sat down. He took a deep breath and stared at the fire. "Is he asleep?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"What did you talk about?"

"Just some father/son chit chat."

"Ok," I relented. If he wasn't going into details, that was fine with me. "Victor?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I'm sorry too. I just want you to understand that there are some things you don't need to know about. Can you accept that?"

"Yes." I crawled over and into his arms and lap. He sighed somewhat contentedly, but still bothered.

"What are we going to do about this new development?" he asked, referring to the triggered mutation.

"Did you mention it to him?"

"No. I don't know what to tell him. Do you think he noticed?"

"See, that's what scares me. I think he noticed and had enough control that he would've used it. He's only 3 years old! How can he have any kind of control?"

"I don't know. Maybe tomorrow we should ask him about it."

"Yeah…we could do that."

"Alright. And no more fighting in front of him. As you said al those years ago: we don't want to catch him in the crossfire."

"No…let's not. It's bad enough we've made him a mutant. We don't want to make a mutilated mutant."

"No, we definitely don't want that."

I nestled into his arms and almost fell asleep, but then I remembered… "Oh! Gambit came by today."

"Did he? What in the hell did he want?"

"To check on his Russian lady friend."

"Huh."

"You don't care?"

"Not really."

"Oh. I thought you'd be a little more opposed to it than that."

"Naw. He annoys me, but not enough to forbid him from the grounds."

"Cool. It cheered me up a little bit to see him."

"That's good, but I didn't realize you were down."

"Not drastically. I just miss the old days. I miss all my friends."

"I can relate to that. I was reminiscing the other day, and it kinda made me sad. I'm not really a social butterfly, but I do enjoy the company of others sometimes." I snorted. "What?"

"Not really a social butterfly. Nope. I would call you a somewhat social recluse."

He grinned. "Better than nothing, right?"

"Right. Let's go to bed. I'm a little worried about how all of this is going to play out."

He kissed my forehead and said, "Don't worry about it. You'll get wrinkles."

"No I won't. The healing…"

"I'm kidding, baby. I'm kidding."

"Oh…duh. Sorry," I chuckled. He chuckled to and carried me to the bedroom.


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next few weeks, Victor and I both lightly questioned Alexander about what he felt when he was around fire. We didn't get a lot out of him, until one night, the fireplace wasn't lit, but when Alex got mad because I told him no, a fire leapt up and a tendril snaked to where his foot had stomped. He seemed slightly startled by it, but with prodding from me and his father, he started trying to control it. He succeeded in setting the couch on fire and putting it out without actually burning it. Victor and I exchanged glances over his head. Wow was pretty much what we were thinking. After that, we spent time with him every day attempting to help him exercise as much control as possible. He started to become very skilled.

His first day of kindergarten leapt up on us suddenly. Where were the years going? On the way to the school I quietly explained, "You can't tell people about how you control fire. Do you understand me?" He didn't answer. He'd been going through a rather rebellious stage lately. "Alexander Creed, I asked you a question."

"I understand!"

"Good." We pulled up to the little one-roomed kindergarten building. I took him inside and introduced him and myself to the teacher. Then I tore myself away from him and went back out to the truck. As I sat there, I remembered that this was the school that Kayla Silverfox had taught at. I was overcome with a wish for the old days again, and tears began streaming down my face. "Oh, Logan," I said into the silence, "Where are you? And a better question: where is Nesha? We've been cut off from the world for far too long. It's time I change that." And did I? No. I kept putting it off. I was going to track down Nesha, I swear. I just didn't.

Time got away from me again, and soon, it was summer. Alex was 6 and already up to my belly button. He was still a bit defiant, but I think that just kind of came in his gene pool. Don't get me wrong, he was a good kid...just a little difficult sometimes. I had no idea the problems that would cause, or the pain that would come from it.

One completely normal day in June; June 6th to be exact; Alex asked to go outside and play. I told him to stay in sight of the house and thought nothing of it. Victor was crammed up under the sink, trying and failing to fix the leaky faucet, and I was cooking supper. When it was finished, I walked outside to call Alex in, but I couldn't find him. I sniffed the breeze for his scent and found it mingled with fear, hostility, and another person I didn't recognize. I opened my mouth to call his name, but I was cut off by a distant scream. "ALEX!" I shrieked. Victor came barreling out the door and immediately took off, cat bounding into the woods. I got a heading and burst into super-speed. I passed Victor somewhere and ended up in a clearing. On the other side was a monstrous man with metal tentacles sticking out of his arms. Those tentacle were wrapped around my thrashing son. As quickly as I could, I looked the man over for any weakness. He wore some kind of red armor that seemed to cover most of his body. His fierce eyes bored into me, daring me to do something.

Victor reached my side about that time and stopped. The man then spoke. He had a strong Russian accent that made me quiver with hate. "Where is the Synthesizer?"

Victor answered, "I already told you I don't know! I've never known!"

"What the hell is going on?" I demanded, but I got no answer.

"Tell me now, Sabretooth, or your son dies!"

"NO! Don't hurt him! I swear, I don't know where they hid it!"

"Hid what?" I screamed at them.

The man turned his gaze on me. "The Carbonadium Synthesizer."

"What the freaking hell is that?" Again, no answer.

"Now, Sabretooth. I have very little patience."

"Have you talked to the others?" Victor pleaded.

"Wolverine knows nothing! And Maverick is dead! You know something! And if you want your son to live, you will tell me!"

"I know nothing!"

"Fine! Know then that your son's blood is on your hands!"

"NO!" I screamed. Alexander let out an agonized yell. The tentacles were doing something to him. I sped forward, but one of the tentacles whipped out and hit me across the head. I fell into a useless heap on the ground as rain began falling from the storm clouds above. I heard Victor snarl, but thunder exploded and covered any other sounds. When it rumbled out of existence, I heard Alexander moan, but then it was gone. I tried to force myself to sit up. Me head throbbed, but I managed. It was dark now, but lightning flashed often enough that I could see. The Russian man was gone. A small heap was lying motionless on the ground where he had been. Victor was slowly getting up from where he had been thrown against a tree. I stared at the small heap willing it to move. It didn't. Victor staggered over to it and fell to his knees beside it. He felt for a pulse in what I refused to admit was the body of our son. His form started to shake, and suddenly this animalistic, completely feral growl/snarl/sob erupted from him. He howled into the storm that was now at its full intensity over our heads. Still disoriented and dizzy, I just sort of reached for him even though he was yards away. He held Alexander's limp form against his chest and cried into our departed boy's hair. I could only watch, unable to distinguish the difference between rain drops and tears in my eyes. Abruptly, Victor laid Alex down, stood up, and ran off. It totally took me by surprise. I yelled, "VICTOR!" No response except a thunder clap. I tried to catch his scent, but the rain made it nearly impossible.

I made myself crawl to Alex. His face was peaceful, but rain was pooling in his eye sockets. I gently tried to brush them away, but it was no use. They kept refilling. I had a vague hope that maybe he'd heal...but he never had before. My chest was tight with grief that hadn't exactly kicked in yet. My mind was numb and nothing seemed to be responding.

Without really realizing that I had done so, I got up and ran back to the house. Some instinctual logic made me go inside and turn off all the electrical appliances and check for Victor. He was nowhere to be found. I stood in the dark living room considering my next course of action with my dysfunctional brain. I couldn't leave Alex lying out there at the mercy of wild animals. I went to the shed and got a shovel then ran back to the clearing. I dug as good a grave as I could manage in the pouring rain and deep darkness and put my son's body in it. Once I had buried him, I found a large stone and put it atop the freshly replaced dirt and simply dropped the shovel.

What now? Victor was gone. There would be no finding him, that was damn sure. I vaguely wondered if he blamed me for this. Maybe he blamed himself. Either way, he wouldn't want to face me. All this considered, I really didn't want to be alone no matter how moody and pissed Victor was...but he wasn't an option. My brain was still working like molasses in January, but slowly, I realized what to do. Nesha. I would find my sister and she would know what to do.

I ran to the nearest border between Canada and New York. The guards didn't even notice me blow by. Once in New York, I did some asking around. Finally, at about 4pm the next day, I found someone who knew of the institution run by Charles Xavier, and I got an address. By the time I found it, it was dark and pouring down rain again. I was soaking wet as I approached the front door in slow, stuttering steps. The place was huge. There were basketball courts, a pool, tennis courts, and a sprawling lawn. I stumbled up the steps to the front door. Slowly, apprehensively, I reached up and knocked. Within moments, it creaked open. I felt somewhat awkward standing on the welcome mat, dripping water everywhere and squinting against the light, but the voice that greeted me was warm and compassionate. "Good evening. Can I help you?" A man was in the doorway. He was in a wheelchair, but he didn't seem to be affected by it. The light behind him glanced off his smooth, bald head.

I cleared my throat and hoarsely began, "Um...I'm looking for Nesha Romanov."

The man smiled and responded, "Aren't we all. I'm afraid Miss Romanov has run off with a fellow by the name of Remy LeBeau, otherwise known as..."

"Gambit," I finished with a weak smile.

"You know him?"

"Yeah. We're old friends. Did Nesha say if she would be back?"

"No, but I was under the impression that she would be. May I ask why you are looking for her?"

"I'm her sister."

"You're Elena!"

"Yes, sir. And you are?"

"My name is Charles Xavier. Please, come in out of the rain. You are welcome to stay here until Nesha returns."

I walked in and shut the door behind me. "So, is this really an institution for mutants?"

"It is. It's a school mostly, a place of refuge partly, and a base of operations on the side."

"Base of operations?"

"A long story. Have you eaten?"

I was very suddenly aware that I hadn't eaten since lunch time the day before...and I still didn't feel hungry. "I'm not hungry. Thanks though."

"Certainly. Make yourself at home, Elena. You may stay in Nesha's room if you wish. I'll have Scott show you there."

"Scott?" As I spoke, Scott Summers walked into the lobby. Xavier smiled and rolled away. Scott had ruby colored lenses in his sunglasses just like the day we first encountered on another. "Little dark for sunglasses, don't you think?" I asked with a smile.

He smiled back and answered, "They help keep the damage down."

"Yeah, Victor totally should've given you time to explain that. It would've saved some trouble later."

He grinned and said, "Yeah, it might've. Come on, I'll show you the way to your room." He led me up the staircase and down the hall; along the way pointing out the elevator, the 2nd floor library (there was a much larger one on the ground floor), and other rooms of interest. Finally, we reached Nesha's, and now my, room. "So, yeah. Here's your room. There's no locks. We rely on a trust system here...besides the fact that everyone here has the ability to ward off any intruders."

I half chuckled and sighed, "Yeah. I don't think I've been in the presence of this many mutants before."

"Well, you'll soon find it's a lot easier around your own kind."

My mind flashed to the mutant who had taken my boy from me and I responded, "That's debatable."

He shrugged. "That's for you to decide. Anyway, I'll leave you alone. Sleep well...Elena was it?"

"Yeah. You too, Scott." He started to leave, but I called, "Hey, Scott!"

"Yeah?"

"Um...I'm sorry. For what me and Victor had to do, I mean. While I did have fun hunting you, I never wanted to turn you over to Stryker."

"Hey, it's cool. You helped me get out. That covers the getting me in."

I nodded and went into my room. Nesha hadn't decorated it really. There were a few pictures of her and Wade and I quietly wondered where she had gotten them. As far as I knew, she didn't have anything on her when she escaped the island except the clothes on her back. I looked at their smiling faces and fought the dreadful clenching in my gut. I missed Wade. He was one hell of a friend. Viciously loyal to the people he knew long enough to care about. And if anyone could take care of my sister to my expectations...it was Wade. And now Wade was gone. What kind of twisted world had mine turned into over the years? My son was dead, his father, whom I loved more than anything or anyone else, excluding Nesha, was gone, and I was stuck at this institution until my sister thought she should come back. In a swing of optimism that was extremely uncharacteristic of me, I thought, "Make it work, Elena. This is what you've been handed. Make it work."

I later regretted staying alone in my room for so long. It allowed me to think and wallow in grief and start to blame myself for Alex's death. Ultimately, I had no idea how I felt. I was angry for sure. I was angry with Victor for not telling me something was going on, I was angry with Alex for straying so far from the house, I was angry with myself for not being able to save him. On top of all the anger was the life threatening grief. I wanted to die like I never had before. I had a really bad depression phase during WWII, but it didn't come close to this. To me, there was nothing worse than wanting to die and knowing there was no way to make it happen. I wasn't about to ask someone to behead me. I could find Stryker, assuming he wasn't dead. He would happily do it for me. I violently shook my head. No. I wouldn't ask that man for anything. Suddenly, a shock wave of rage hit me and I chucked a lamp across the room. It shattered against the wall and I slumped onto the bed. A few moments later, there was a quiet knock at my door. I sighed and went to answer it. Xavier was there. "Um...hi. Sorry about that. I...I'm just going through some stuff," I babbled.

He held up a hand and said, "I know. You see, I'm telepathic. I knew you were under stress the moment you walked through the front door."

"...oh. Well...ok."

"Can I help with anything? Do you need someone to talk to?"

"I...I can't talk about this."

"Then, perhaps if I gleaned it from your mind? There is no talking involved really. Just, if you want someone else to know what you're going through."

I considered this option. Maybe it would be easier knowing that someone else knew the burden I was bearing. I had never been a fan of asking for help, but this man seemed genuinely concerned. "What is involved?"

"You just have to sit on the bed. It'll be easier if I can place my hands on your head, but if you aren't comfortable with that, I can make do without it."

I slowly nodded. "Ok, Xavier." I went and sat on the bed. He rolled over and gently placed a hand on each side of my head.

"Now, just relax. You will see what I see." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then everything was flashing through my head. I saw Africa, the island, when I first discovered my mutation, Bradley's death, a battle on Saipan during WWII, the attack on Pearl Harbor, the whole ordeal in Vietnam, my fight with Victor in Canada before going with him to the island, the hub falling that fateful morning, holding Alex the day he was born, his first use of his mutation, his death...that was where Xavier stopped. He pulled his hands away and I opened my eyes. Tears were cascading down my face. I was sobbing so hard, I couldn't find words. "My dear girl," he said quietly.

Finally, I choked out, "I should've been able to help him!"

"No, no. There was nothing you could do, Elena. You tried."

"And I let that monster get the better of me! Believe me when I say he will know he made a mistake."

"You can't go after revenge right now. You aren't quite stable or thinking clearly."

"What do you know? You don't know me! I've actually been a lot worse off than this!"

He softly smiled at me and said, "We both know you're lying. Telepathic, remember?" I tried to create a come back and ended up just breaking down into sobs again. "Elena, the dark-headed man, he was quite a popular subject in your life and playing many different roles. Who is he?"

I sniffed and answered, "Victor Creed. My love, my life, and occasionally my worst enemy."

"He was the father of the boy?"

"Yes."

"Where is he now?"

"That's a damn good question. He ran off after...Alex..."

"I understand. Now, are you going to be alright? You won't do anything rash?"

"If you're referring to suicide, you probably picked up that that isn't possible."

"Yes. What exactly is the cause of that?"

"I heal."

"I see. That would explain your presence at Pearl Harbor."

"It does."

"Just how old are you?"

"I haven't kept count. I was born somewhere around the 20s."

His eyebrows scooted up his forehead in a very discreet way, but then he said, "Do you want to be left alone?"

"Please. I've done all the reliving I think I can handle right now."

"Sure. I'll see you in the morning. Sleep well."

"Thanks. Goodnight." He rolled out my door and I quietly shut it behind him. Then, I crashed on the bed and cried myself to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** **Please be kind. I'm well aware that some of these mutants probably aren't supposed to be at the institute at this point in time as per the comics, but I'm taking author's liberty. :-)**

I woke up the next morning when the sun came through the drapes and hit my eyes. I groaned and rolled over, but it was no use. I was wide awake. I laid in the bed for a few more minutes before making myself get up. I really wanted a shower, but I had no clothes to change into. I searched the drawers for any of Nesha's stuff, but she had left only pants and t-shirts. Both would be too short on me since she was so much shorter than myself. I sighed and decided to just go roam around and find the kitchen. My stomach was growling more violently than even I was capable of. It wasn't difficult for me to catch the scent of cooking bacon. It hit me the moment I opened the door. So, I followed it and found the kitchen. Xavier was in there along with a bunch of older teenage kids and young adults. Everyone stopped what they were doing when I walked in. "Good morning, Elena," Xavier said quickly. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah. Thanks." I looked around at all the others. "Um, hi, guys. I'm Elena," I said with an awkward wave.

Scott stepped up and said, "She's Nesha's sister."

"Oh, cool!" an African American girl said. She looked to be a couple years older than Scott, but not many. She got up and held out her hand. "Hi. I'm Ororo, but everyone around here calls me Storm."

"Hello. Storm, huh? What, do you control the weather?"

"Yep."

"Oh. Well, that's nifty."

A red-headed girl came up next. "I'm Jean...just Jean. I don't have a cool mutant name like everyone else yet."

"Hey, neither do I. Don't worry about it. Good to meet you, Jean." Honestly, it was the same with her as with Scott. There was just something about her that irked me. I jumped when someone appeared in a puff of blue dust. It was a blue guy.

He looked around, saw me, and jumped himself. "Oh! Hello. Sorry about that." He had some kind of accent that I couldn't quite place. It was sort of Russian...or German...or Romanian...or something.

I blinked a few times and answered, "That's quite alright. You some kind of teleporter?"

"Yes, I am. I'm Kurt. You can call me that or Nightcrawler."

"I'm Elena." I cocked my head a bit and quietly added, "I knew someone who had powers like you. He was a good friend of mine."

"Was?"

"Yeah...he died."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

I shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It's in the past." I silently added, 'And it still bothers me.'

One of the other guys came forward and I had to marvel at his huge, white wings. "Hi, Elena. I'm Warren. You can call me Angel."

"That's a fitting name. Nice wings."

"Thank you. I'm rather proud of them."

I glanced around when another blue guy entered the room. He was a little older than everyone else except Xavier. "Geez, Xavier. Do you just attract blue people or what?"

The newcomer saw me and smiled. "He is good at attracting many strange people. I'm Hank McCoy."

"Otherwise known as...?"

"Beast."

Again, it was a fitting name. He was a bulky fellow and quite hairy...but I wasn't going to tell him that. "Are you a feral?"

"No, not exactly."

Another young guy came slipping in the door on a sheet of ice. Storm was directly in his path and was quickly wiped out. "BOBBY!"

"Sorry!" the guy cried. He saw me and quickly composed himself. "Hi there. I'm Bobby Drake. Also known as Iceman."

I nodded and said, "Iceman. You all have such tell-tale names."

He just grinned. "It's easier to identify people like that."

"I guess. All the people I knew before with mutant names didn't really give away their powers like that. Wraith, Zero, Gambit...and the Merc with a Mouth," I finished with a smile to myself. Then I shook my head and asked, "So is this everyone?"

"No," Scott said. "Marvel Girl, Havok, and Polaris are away at a camp."

"I assume they have birth certificate names too?"

"Yes...but they're the kind who don't like to use them."

"Oh. I get it. Reminds them too much of home."

"Yup. Pretty much. Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"Help yourself to whatever. We got lots."

"Thanks." Everyone in the room just sort of took that as a cue to start up individual conversations. I went to the fridge and looked over it's contents. Oddly, there was a box of blueberries in there and I was unwillingly yanked back in time to my first morning on the island. I just about lost my appetite, but then I saw the ham. I quickly grabbed a few slices and ate them before my stomach could tell me not to. I just sat, listening to the conversations that were floating around the room. These people were so at home with each other. I felt very much like and intruder to a private party. I really wished Nesha would come back.

Over the next couple days, I gradually grew a little more comfortable with everyone and opened up a little. I told them my powers which immediately led to how old I was which led to Bobby drilling me with WWII questions. "So, you were actually at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked?"

"Yes, Bobby."

"Well, what was it like?"

"Terrifying, bloody, and frustrating."

"Frustrating."

"I couldn't get in a freaking plane. I was stuck on the ground, watching my friends die, and I couldn't do I damn thing. So, yeah. Frustrating."

"I would think that would be a bit more than frustrating."

"Bobby! World War Two was one hell of a hard time for me. I struggled with depression after that attack. Watching that many people die changes you. And not for the better."

"Sorry. I'm just curious."

I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "I know. Sorry for snapping at you. I'm not used to people asking me about that. The people I spent time with before didn't have to ask because they were there. Nesha was there. Haven't you asked her about it?"

"No. She won't talk."

"My point exactly. It wasn't all glorious. We were caught off our guard and we paid dearly for it." He left me alone after that.

I spent most of my time alone wandering the grounds. I was surprised to find that they had a stable and a couple horses. Very tentatively, I went in. Other animals weren't very good at dealing with me. Most of the horses shied away from me, but there was one who simply glanced up at me and went back to chomping hay. I stopped by his stall. He was a big black stallion and very intimidating. "Hey, big guy," I said quietly. He stopped eating and looked up at me. "What's with you, huh? Don't you find me a threat?" He just snorted as if I was the most unimportant thing to him in the world. "I could get used to you. What do you say? Give me a chance?" He stared back at me with deep brown eyes. "I'll take that as a yes. You and I have an appointment with destiny. Tomorrow, same time, same place." I felt like a fool standing there talking to that horse, but he really seemed to understand. He tossed his head as if in confirmation. I smiled and pat his broad neck a few times before leaving.

The grounds were quite extensive. If I had been less equipped, I could've gotten lost in the woods that surrounded the place. It was very peaceful and it made me miss Canada. The quiet, the blanket of peace, and the general sense of well being had been very good for me after Africa. On my wanderings, I found an extremely tall tree. It was taller than almost all of the surrounding trees and stuck out above the canopy. So, naturally, I climbed up it. I got as far up as I could and was amazed by the view it offered. I could see the entire mansion and many many miles beyond it. With the wind blowing through my hair, I felt like the queen of the world. But, the euphoria faded quickly and I climbed back down and headed back to the house.

I kept my appointment with that horse the next day, and every day after that. It proved to be very therapeutic. I could tell him whatever I wanted and I knew he wouldn't judge me, or question my logic, or tell me how evil I could be. He eventually became my personal confidant. Finally, someone told me his name: Onyx. This place ran rampant with fitting names.

It was about a month after I arrived, on a muggy night in July when I suddenly caught a whiff of two very familiar scents. My head snapped up and everyone in the room looked over. "What's up?" Bobby asked.

I smiled and answered, "Nesha's home!" I leapt off the couch and ran towards the front door. I burst out into the night. Gambit and Nesha were just dismounting a motorcycle. "Nice ride!" I called.

Gambit looked up and a huge smile split his face. "Elena!"

Nesha was in the process of getting off and nearly fell. "What? Where?" She yanked her helmet off and spun around to look.

I waved and said, "Hi, sis."

She stared at me for what felt like a normal person's lifetime. "So...NOW you come find me. Like, seven years after you promised to find me...you come and find me. And I'm supposed to be happy to see you."

"Well, that's what I was hoping, yeah."

She looked extremely pissed off, but she suddenly cried, "And you were damn right!" She ran to me and jumped into my open arms, laughing the whole time. "ELENA!"

I laughed and responded, "NESHA!"

She let me go. "WHERE in god's name have you been?"

"Canada. Me and Victor went up there after the island incident."

"Really? Where is Meow Mix?" I softly smiled at the nickname, but it faded. "Elena, what is it?"

"Nesh, we need to go have a long conversation."

So, we went up to our room and I told her the whole story. Every little bit. When I was done, and crying again, she simply sat there, trying to take it all in. "E, why didn't you tell me I had a nephew?"

"I don't know. I just didn't feel that the time was right."

"And now it's too late. Elena, you should've told me! I could've come up and watched him for you!"

"Nesha, I'm sorry! You can't even imagine how bad I feel about this!"

"Oh, I know! Come here." She held out her arms and I fell into them. I cried on her shoulder while she simply stroked my hair.

"I miss him, Nesha. I miss him so much."

"I know, baby." She held me for a little bit longer, then pulled me back so she could look me in the eyes. "You do know what we have to do, right?"

"What?"

"We have to find that guy...and we have to kill him."

"...what?"

"What do you mean what? Surely you aren't going to let this guy get away with this! That is not who you are! He killed your son and you seriously haven't thought about revenge?"

"Well...I mean, I have no idea who he is! And I tried to fight him before."

"You tried alone...well, with Victor, but that doesn't count. You need a group."

"Like who?"

"Like the people around here. Scott and Bobby have been dying for any kind of action. They will definately help."

"I can't ask them to fight my battles."

"You need help! I know you hate that, but stop denying it. Victor isn't around to help, and we need some muscle."

"What about Xavier?"

"He won't stop them from going. He won't be happy about it, but he won't stop them. He's the key to finding this guy too. He has this thing, it's called Cerebro, and he can locate mutants with it. Describe the guy to Xavier. He'll find him."

I looked away and sat there, unable to speak for a bit, then sniffed, looked back at her and growled, "Let's find him."


	5. Chapter 5

We waited until morning to ask Xavier for help finding Alex's killer. I dished out all the descriptive details I could about him, and then Xavier rolled into the elevator and disappeared. Gambit had spent the night and he had chosen to wait with us while Xavier searched. I told him a less involved version of the story and accepted his hug of comfort. We then sat together in the kitchen and talked. "I can't believe that cute little kid is gone," Gambit said.

"You and me both," I replied. "I should've been able to..."

"No, shut your mouth. None of this is your fault. Victor didn't tell you about this guy. He could've prevented this." I slowly shook my head. "What?"

"Please...don't blame him. While you have a point, he's probably hurting as badly as I."

"So where is he?"

"I don't know! What's the difference? We would just fight if he were here."

Gambit shrugged and Nesha said, "She's right. It's probably better that he's not here. You've never lived with him, Gambit." I snorted and Nesha started chuckling.

"Do I even want to know?" he asked.

"No," I told him decisively. "He's not an easy housemate. He's really bad at hogging the bathroom." Gambit slowly glanced up at me and started chortling. I grinned and found myself laughing. "He is! Come on, Nesha! You know what I'm talking about."

Nesha smiled and nodded. "I do know what you're talking about. Sometimes, he spent more time in there than either one of us did."

Gambit finally stopped laughing and shook his head. "I had no idea that Victor Creed was a high maintenence guy."

"It's really only on special occassions...but still."

"Wow. You think you know someone..."

I said, "Believe me, Gambit, you don't know a thing about him. Not that that's a bad thing. Sometimes, I wish I could forget some of the things I know about him."

"So, explain to me what it is that has you so enthralled to that man."

I tried very hard to come up with an answer and came up with, "I don't know."

"Come on, there has to be something you like so much that you've stayed with him this long."

"I love him. What else is there? I know he can be a monster, but I love him, and that cancels out everything. Have you ever loved someone, Gambit?"

"Do my parents count?"

"No!"

"Good, because I was never too fond of my adoptive father. The answer to your question is no. I have never been in love."

"Then you really have no chance of understanding what I am trying to tell you. When you find a girl you love beyond all reserves and secrets and problems, you come talk to me again."

"Fair enough. What about you, Nesha? You ever been in love?"

Nesha looked up from where she had been messing with a stray string on her shirt. "Um...yes, I have...but can we not talk about him?"

Gambit cast a questioning glance at me. I leaned in and whispered, "Remember the guy with laser eyes and swords sticking out from between his knuckles? He didn't always look like that." He simply nodded. I leaned back and said louder, "So, how long does it generally take Xavier to find someone on this Cerebro thing?"

"It depends on how much he knows about the subject. Considering all we have is a physical description combined with a Russian accent, it might take a while."

Just as she said that, Xavier entered the room. "I believe I have found the man you're looking for, girls." He threw down a file on the table. I quickly opened it and was shocked to find the face of the man looking back at me from a picture. "His name is Arkady Rossovich, though he now goes by Omega Red. He was a Soviet soldier stationed in a small town in Siberia. He was a blood-thirsty murderer; his crimes easily discoverable due to the town's small size. He was caught by fellow soldiers and promptly executed without a trial via a gunshot to the back of the head. Amazingly, he survived the execution and was recommended for the Russian super-soldier project. They implanted retractable carbonadium tentacles in each of his arms."

"Hold on," I interrupted. "What is carbonadium? He said something about a carbonadium synthesizer. That's what he thought Victor knew the whereabouts of."

"Carbonadium is the Soviet's attempt at recreating the artificial alloy known as adamantium. It is more malleable than adamantium, but it seems that it is poisonous. The tentacles can be used to drain his victims of their "life" energy. I believe this is what he did to your son, Elena. He is required to drain the life energy of a person regularly to sustain his immune system. To stabilize his condition, he requires a device known as a Carbonadium Synthesizer. It went missing about 8-10 years ago. It is rumored that a secret US agency had some operatives steal it and hide it. Omega Red has been proven a Soviet intelligence agent. It makes sense that the US would want him crippled." He suddenly noticed that my face had lost color. "Elena, are you alright?"

"A secret US agency? About 8-10 years ago? Nesha, please tell me you're seeing the connection I'm seeing."

"Team X."

Slowly, I nodded. "Team X. Do you remember when Logan, Victor, and Zero were sent off on a separate mission from the rest?"

"I do."

"Omega Red said that Wolverine knew nothing...and that Maverick was dead. Could that be Logan and Zero? Logan lost his memory. That would explain him knowing nothing...and Zero is dead."

"That is extremely possible."

I turned back to Xavier. "Where is he?"

"Well, he was in southern Maine when I located him."

I stood up and started out the door. "Xavier, call the kids together. I need to have a talk with them."

"Um…sure."

Within an hour, all the kids were in the living room and I was standing before them. "What's this about, Elena?" Bobby asked.

"Ok. I'm not going to sugar-coat this, guys. I need help. There's a man I'm after, and I can't take him alone. Gambit and Nesha will help me, and I've called you all here to ask you for help as well. Now, this is not going to be an easy mission. Frankly, I have no idea how to beat this guy. It's going to be a try and fail so try again kind of thing. I'm not asking you to commit to the whole ordeal. I just need as many people on my side as I can get. I'm not going to make you stay if you begin to feel that it's too much. That's not my place. So…there it is. What do you think?"

Gambit added, "Keep in mind, this may be a life threatening mission. No one would blame you for declining."

"Or leaving once you see the guy," Nesha said.

I nodded and looked around. "I really don't want to rush you, but I'm leaving in half an hour."

Storm asked, "So…you really don't have any idea how to beat him?"

"Nope. I know his powers, I know some of his skills, I don't know what the heck to do to overcome them. I just have to try. He killed my son. What else can I do?"

"I'm in," Bobby offered.

"Me too," Scott added.

Slowly but surely, all of the kids except Jean offered their help. She said, "I don't feel comfortable enough with my powers to be useful. I'm sorry."

I nodded. "That's ok. Don't worry about it. I'll try my hardest to send your friends back to you." I turned to Xavier and said, "I assume they have your permission to do this."

"I won't stop them," he said. "You warned them adequately. All I can say is be careful. All of you. And good luck."

"Thank you. Alright, guys, get whatever you need to go. I dunno how long we're gonna be gone." Nightcrawler raised his hand. "What, Kurt?"

"How are we going to get where we're going? And where are we going?"

My stomach hit my toes. "Um…well, last known location was southern Maine." He had a point. How in the hell was I going to get these kids anywhere. If it had just been me, Gambit, and Nesha, I could run and they could take the bike, but now I had four others in tow. "Does anyone have a car?"

Xavier had a very subtle grin on his face and he said, "I told you those flying lessons would come in useful, Storm."

"Flying lessons?" I asked with a perk of my head.

Within 15 minutes, we were in the lowest levels of the mansion. The base of operation levels. Before us was a huge…HUGE…jet. "This is the Blackbird. I'm sure it will get you where you need to go. And if you really don't want to be detected, there is a stealth mode."

I grinned and muttered, "Perfect." I managed to wait another half hour for everyone to go get their gear together, then we all loaded on the jet. Storm was at the helm and the rest of us strapped into the passenger seats. I called up, "You're sure you know what you're doing, Storm?"

She answered, "Pretty much."

"That's encouraging," Gambit muttered.

I smiled at him and asked, "Everyone got everything?" Nobody said otherwise, so… "Storm, whenever you're ready."

Xavier was still communicating over the radio. He said, "I've programmed the coordinates of Omega Red's last known location into the guidance system. I assume you can track him from there, Elena."

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. Good luck…to all of you."

Storm started up the engine, and very quickly, we were in the air. I glanced out the window once we were and marveled at how the jet had come up out of the basketball court.

About 10 minutes into the flight, Bobby asked, "How long of a flight is this?"

Storm answered, "About half an hour."

"Woah…really?" I asked.

"Yeah. This thing is a little faster than the commercial jets," she responded with a grin.

"Well, I guess that makes sense…but still."

She was right. Nearly 20 minutes later, we were landing in an abandoned field. She lowered the steps and we all disembarked. As soon as I was outside, I could smell him. A low growl rumbled in my gut. Nesha came up beside me. "You caught his scent?"

"Oh, I caught it. He hasn't been gone long…but he's not exactly close."

"Maybe he has super-speed like you."

"That would be just great," I huffed. "Like I need anymore advantages piled against me. He has this carbonadium stuff…I can't cut through that."

"It's more malleable than adamantium. Maybe you can get something to work."

"One can only hope. I really have no idea how to do this. I've never had to organize a group fight. I only ever decided what I should do. There were always superiors there to tell everyone else what to do."

"Then maybe this experience will be good for you."

I chuckled darkly. "Oh, I know it will be good for me. When I get the chance to dig my claws into that man's flesh…" I shivered. "Yeah. It'll be good for me."

Scott came over. He had switched his sunglasses for this weird looking visor. He noticed me staring and explained, "It allows me to control the beam."

"I see."

"So, how do you want to do this?"

I thought about it for a second, then asked, "Can that jet track me?"

"I think so."

"Then I'll stay on the ground and track Omega Red by scent. You all follow in the jet that is tracking me."

"Sounds good. I'll go tell Storm."

He left and Nesha asked, "Are you ready for this, E?"

"I'm ready. Let's do this."

"Be careful," she warned before getting back on the jet.

I watched everyone else get on. Gambit was last and he turned and shot me a wink before disappearing. I laughed quietly to myself and waited for the ok. Storm waved and gave me a thumbs up from the cockpit. It was time. I took a deep breath through my nose and found the scent trail I was looking for. I took off. If I had my way…this man was a dead man.


	6. Chapter 6

I tracked Omega Red all across Maine for almost 3 weeks. He was always a few steps ahead of me and the others. Despite the failure to find him, none of the others ditched. They stuck with me through it all. It was odd to me. I wasn't used to such loyalty, especially from people who didn't really know me. One night, we stopped for the day in a forest surrounded field. Overhead, storm clouds were gathering, and the air smelled strongly of rain. I was off, away from the rest, staring into the blackness of the woods. Gambit joined me. "How you holdin' up, cherie?"

"I'm fine." Thunder rumbled, so I commented, "Looks like we'll all have to sleep in the jet tonight."

"I was going to anyway."

I smiled. "You're not much of one for the elements, are you?"

"Not really, no."

He made to leave, but I called, "Gambit?"

"Yeah, Elena?"

"Thank you for staying with me. This has stretched on a lot longer than I thought, and your loyalty is more than I could've ever asked for."

A soft smile played on his lips. "You're very welcome. You might not understand, but I want revenge as much as you do. I considered that boy my godchild."

I snorted. "Well, good to know he had a god father! You know, I should've thought of that."

"Yeah, you should've. That's why I just decided on it for you."

"That's cool."

He nodded. "Come inside. That storm is gonna break loose any minute now."

"Yeah. Probably." I was just turning to follow him when something sent me flying through the air. Gambit cried out which alerted everyone else.

A man's voice cried out, "The hunter becomes the prey!" It was Omega Red.

I forced myself off the ground where I had landed, and snarled, "That remains to be seen!" I spun around, frantically searching for his position. Before I could find him, one of his tentacles grabbed me and held me suspended in the air. I shrieked as I felt energy leaving my body. Something hit the tentacle and he dropped me. I looked up to see all the others running towards me. I got up again and we formed a circle, our backs to the center, so Omega Red couldn't surprise us. "Storm!" I cried over the din of the thunder, "Use this lightning to your advantage! He has metal all throughout his body!"

"Got ya!"

He was nowhere in sight, so I called, "Come out and face me, bastard!" He answered by ripping Scott off the ground. He cried out, but then followed the tentacle until he found a body and shot a beam from his visor. Red dropped him and recoiled. That was the first time I saw his face during this entire ordeal, and it sparked the fury. I snarled and took off as the rain began pouring.

"Elena, don't!" Nesha cried. "We can't break the circle!"

I didn't listen. Red hadn't seen me coming, and I crashed into him. We fell to the ground in a heap. I had my claws out, and I was desperately slashing at his neck. They were doing very little. It was almost as if he had skin like Dukes. He roared and threw me away. He whipped me across the face with a tentacle which left a deep gash. It healed pretty quickly, and suddenly, he chuckled. "Well...we could do this forever, couldn't we? You can do nothing to really hurt me, and I can do nothing to permenantly hurt you. Such irony, yes?"

I just screamed and lunged at him again. He easily knocked me aside. That's when all the others came rushing over to try and subdue him. He whacked them all away with relative ease. Scott got a few optic blasts off which obviously hurt Red, but he didn't show any signs of weakening. Bobby tried to freeze the tentacles, but realized how bad an idea that was when Red took one of the frozen ones and hit Bobby upside the head with it. Storm tried to hit him with lightning, so he flat knocked her out. Nesha snarled and tried to get in some claw action, but it did no better than my own. Gambit's staff got snapped in half during the fight, and he couldn't get close enough to do anything with his bare hands. Kurt, God bless him, just kind of stood there and cried, "What should I do? What should I do?" He did eventually end up trying to teleport Omega Red's armor off him, but it was too risky. Eventually, we all ended up sprawled out in a wide perimeter on the ground, unable to do anything else.

Red smiled mockingly. "We must do this again some time, Romanov. It was quite invigorating. Nice attempts, all of you. Tah tah!" He disappeared into the surrounding woods.

I roared in frustration and punched the now sloshy, muddy ground. "This is NOT over, Omega Red!" I screamed after him. All that answered me was a thunder clap. I took a breath, then called, "Is everyone alright?"

"Storm's still out cold, but I'm ok!" Bobby answered.

"Yeah, me too," Scott added.

"Kurt?" I asked.

"Fine, Elena."

"Gambit, Nesha?"

"I'm alright, cherie."

"Of course you are. Nesh?" She didn't answer. I stood, and asked again. "Nesha?"

"Elena." She was pointing somewhere behind me. I turned to look. Lightning flashed, illuminating a very familiar figure standing next to a tree. He had his hands stuck in his coat pockets and he was squinting against the blowing rain. Slowly, I brushed some of the soaked strands of hair off my face. We just stood there, staring at each other across the gap. Everyone behind me got up and grouped together, but they didn't say a word. Rain was running down my skull, then trailing down my back, almost making me shiver. My hair kept sticking to my face when the wind blew, and I eventually stopped trying to move it. Before I really realized I was doing it, I started to walk towards him. He followed suit. It felt like ages passed, but finally, we met in the middle. I looked up a little to see into his eyes. One eyebrow was slightly raised, and his lips were pursed.

"How long were you standing there?" I asked quietly. The thunder had died down, so all we could hear was the sound of the rain pounding the dirt.

"I caught the last few minutes," his deep voice responded.

I nodded and looked away. "I don't know what to do," I whispered.

He took a hand out of his pocket and gently placed it on my neck. "I think you did great. Better than I did anyway."

His hand was warm, and I closed my eyes and simply enjoyed the feel of it on my neck. "I failed though."

"Better to try and fail than never to try at all."

"Where did you obtain such wisdom?"

"Eh, it's always been there. I'm just not very good at utilizing it."

"Ah."

"Elena?"

"Yes, Victor?"

"Look at me." I made myself look him in the eyes again. They reminded me so much of Alex's.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save him," I whispered.

He winced and said, "Oh, baby, that wasn't your fault."

"I should've been able to help him!"

"Don't. Don't do that."

I had started to cry. The only way he could tell was through my voice due to the rain. "I didn't..."

"Stop!" He put a finger over my lips. "Stop. Listen to me. None of this is your fault. I should've told you...about...maybe we could've avoided..." He had started crying too. The only thing that would register in my mind was the extreme urge to kiss him...so I did. I held his face between both my hands and pulled him to me. He kind of gasped, but then he kissed back like it was the only thing that could keep him alive. We both got to crying too hard to keep it up, so we just stood in each other's arms in the middle of the field in the pouring rain. He had his fingers entwined in my hair, holding my head to his chest, and one arm wrapped tightly around my lower back as if afraid to let go. I simply had my arms around him, and I was sobbing into his coat. He calmed down before I did, but he never let go. He stood there, holding me, with his head atop mine.

I don't know how long we stood there. Storm woke up, but none of them moved from where I had left them. When I finally got my eyes to stop leaking salt water at an alarming rate, I looked up at Victor again. "I missed you," I said.

He kissed me again and answered, "I missed you too. We need to talk about some things, but first, I need to show you something."

"What?"

He pulled away and gestured at the woods. "Look who I found."

I glanced into the trees as someone in what looked like a red and black diving suit and mask walked out. The rain had lessened a bit, so my sense of smell was getting stonger. I sniffed at the breeze and for a moment I thought I had gone nuts. "No way that's...is it really?" Behind me, I heard Nesha gasp. The figure saw her, froze for a moment, then started running to her. "It is!" I finished.

"WADE!" she screamed as she ran towards him. Victor came back to me and put his arms around me as we watched the two clash. Nesha ripped the mask off and started kissing him like I had never seen her kiss before. I was happy to see that some of his hair had come back, and his face wasn't so mutilated. There were scars, but he almost looked like he did before. I grinned, then started laughing. Wade picked her up and spun her around, all the while their lips were locked solid. Victor was smiling too as he simply leaned his head on mine again. The kids were all cheering and giving cat-calls. Even Gambit had a huge grin on his face. They all swarmed Nesha and Wade, so Victor and I made our way over, hand in hand. Nesha introduced Wade all around. I couldn't even describe how good it felt to see his smile again.

He finally turned to me. "Elena," he said, smiling.

"Hi, Wade," I answered. He pulled me into a hug, and I had to refrain from crying again. "God, I missed you too!" I said.

"Oh, I know. You can't help but miss me when I leave the room, let alone supposedly die."

I laughed. "You haven't changed a damn bit!"

"Nope! But, really, though, I missed you. I even missed Meow Mix over there." We both glanced at Victor to see his reaction. He rolled his eyes, looked at the sky, and shook his head.

"So, you're all you now, right? No more Deadpool?"

"Well, I'm still going by Deadpool. It's a much more butch name than Wade. But if you're refering to the mind control and stuff, I'm all me. I don't even have swords coming out of my knuckles anymore."

"Really?"

"Yeah, my body ended up rejecting the adamantium after the beheading."

"Holy shit! I forgot about that! I'm very sorry I had to take part in that."

"Hey, I'm glad you did. Once the hub had finished falling, I woke up and just stuck my head back on. Stryker had loaded me with so many powers it...well, I'm not exactly sure what it did. But, after that, my body started to reject things. I can't poof around like John anymore, and I can't shoot you with beams out of my eyes. I can still kick your ass with a sword though. I actually fashioned blades out of the ones that came out of my arms."

"They're adamantium blades?"

"Yeah..."

Nesha and I exchanged glances. "Wade Wilson, you just became the most important man in the world."

"Why?"

"That bastard I was fighting...the only thing that can cause any substantial damage is adamantium."

He grinned, "Well! Introduce us!"

"All in good time. I've had these kids out here for nearly a month. It's time we head home and regroup."

"Home?" Wade and Victor asked at the same time.

Nesha answered, "Charles Xavier's mutant institution in New York."

"Mutant institution?" Wade said.

"Yeah, he trains us, and we go to school there," Bobby answered.

"That's pretty awesome. Let's go."

We all headed towards the plane, but Victor grabbed my hand and pulled me aside. "Is this really a good idea?"

"He's the guy who helped me find Omega Red. He took me in. It'll be ok. Why are you worried?"

"I dunno. I just don't want to make another enemy."

"If you go around with that belief, you're never going to make any allies, Vic."

"Yeah. True."

"So, what is it we need to talk about?"

"Besides the obvious stuff, you mean?"

"Well, yeah."

"I'd rather do all that in private."

"Uh oh. What'd you do?"

"Why do you always think I've done something?"

"Because you always do!"

He shrugged in defeat. "I guess that's kinda true."

"Yes, it is," I responded with a chuckle. "Come on. We need to go." We boarded the jet and Storm quickly had us en route to the Institute.

It was nearly midnight when we landed in the hole that was the basketball court 5 minutes ago. Professor Xavier rolled in to greet us. He didn't bother asking about how the hunt went. He could probably glean that from our moods, even though mine was considerably better than it was when I left three weeks ago. "Glad to see you are all safe," he said.

"It was pretty awesome!" Bobby said enthusiastically. "Even though we lost."

"You can't win every battle, Bobby."

"Yeah, it just sucks."

The kids all headed off talking amongst themselves. Xavier came over to me and the other adults. "Welcome," he said to Wade and Victor. He then looked at me and said, "I see you've found your love, life, and occassional worst enemy again."

I grinned. "Yeah. Well, he kind of found me."

"How romantic," Wade said. I laughed and punched him. He then held out his hand to Xavier. "Hello. I'm Wade Wilson, otherwise known as Deadpool."

"Ah, so this is Wade?" Nesha nodded happily. "Good to meet you. I'm Charles Xavier. And you must be Victor."

"Yeah," Victor answered a little guffly. He did manage to shake the Professor's hand.

"Well, I guess we'll have to be getting you a different room now, Elena. I don't think all four of you will fit in Nesha's."

"Probably not."

"Why don't you and Victor take the one across the hall from Nesha's?"

"Sounds good."

"I shall see you all in the morning, then?"

"Yeah. Goodnight, Professor," Nesha said.

We all headed inside and to our separate rooms. Nesha and Wade had barely made it in their room before going at each other. Victor and I snickered, then proceeded into ours. I asked, "Do we have enough self-control to talk first?"

"I'm willing to try."

"Ok." I walked to one of the beds and plopped down. He sat beside me, and we both shed our boots. He took off his coat and threw it across a chair on the other side of the room. "Nice," I said. He chuckled and poked me playfully in the side. "Now, don't do that, or I might lose the little self-control I have."

"Sorry."

Once we were comfortable, we cuddled up on the bed. That much would hold us over until the conversation was over. "Ok, so what exactly do we need to talk about?"

"I thought I should start with the beginning."

"That's a good place."

"Alright. I don't know how much you know about Omega Red, but I'll just say that he's looking for this thing and he thinks I know where it is. I honestly don't. Me, Jimmy, and Zero went and stole it, then gave it to Stryker. He knows where it is, and I think Jimmy did too. But that day I came back from hunting all bothered, remember?"

"Yeah."

"He confronted me in the woods that day. Omega Red, I mean. I told him about Jimmy and Zero to get him off my back. I didn't think he'd return. I badly miscalculated."

"So...all of this...Alex and all, is over this stupid Synthesizer thingie?"

"Yes. He thinks I know where it is."

"And you don't?"

"No."

"Damn. There's no way out of that. He's not going to believe you, is he?"

"I doubt it."

"So, what do we do?"

"Kill him so he doesn't need it anymore."

I grinned. "Nice, straightforward plan. You should disappear for nearly two months more often. You get all this wonderful insight."

"Yeah," he chuckled half-heartedly.

"Ok, so that was the obvious thing we needed to talk about. What's the other thing?"

"Um...I don't really know how to go about this one."

"Maybe, if you get the main point out really fast, you can go back and explain after that."

"Well...ok. I got a girl pregnant."

I literally jumped as if he'd scared me. "Woah! Explain now!"

"I...well, you know me. When I'm hurting, I think that kind of stuff will make me feel better. She seemed normal..."

"She seemed normal?"

"Let me finish, damn it! I didn't know she was a mutant. She could change into whoever she wanted. I found out all she wanted was to try and create a mutant child she could raise and...control I guess. I...I didn't mean to."

"What, sleep with her or get her pregnant?" I asked coldly.

"Get her pregnant," he growled.

I shook my head and got off the bed. I walked to the window and looked out at the now clear sky, trying to process my feelings on this development. "So, our son was just murdered, and you decided sex with some random chick would make you feel better?"

"Elena, you make it sound..."

"Exactly like what it is! What was her name?"

"Raven Darkholm."

I raised an eyebrow. "Cool name. Mysterious."

"It's weird that you say that, because her mutant name is Mystique."

"Oooh."

"Ok, I know you're being sarcastic. I need a real response here."

"What am I supposed to say, Victor?"

"You're supposed to tell me what the heck you're thinking right now! Are you going to leave me? Are you going to beat the hell outta me? What?"

I shook my head again and fought tears. "That's just it. I don't want to leave you. I could probably punch you a couple times, but not like our fights of old. It's just, I guess I'm angry with myself for not expecting it of you."

"What's that mean?"

"It means every time you get hurt, you go out and do this shit. I just thought that maybe, just maybe, you might've decided that your son's death wasn't an appropriate situation for that kind of reaction."

"That's not fair!"

"Bullshit! What do you think Alex would've said?"

He snarled and jumped out of the bed. "I was hoping for a little understanding on this!"

"Yeah? Well, it's gone on too long, Victor! I ignored Vietnam, and the stuff you did between Africa and Canada!"

"That doesn't count! You left me!"

"But I was loyal! I still loved you, and I wouldn't have another!"

"You..." he clenched his fists, looking for words.

"Tell me something. If I had already married you, would you have done the same thing?" He stared at me, stricken. "I thought so."

I started towards the door, but he growled and hurled himself at me, tackling me. "No! You can't...I didn't..."

I struggled beneath him, angry, but far too attracted to his anger for my own good. "Get off me!"

"Not until you listen to me!"

"I did listen!"

"Well, listen some more!" he shouted. "I love you!"

"Really? I can't tell!"

"I make mistakes, Elena! I make them a lot. That doesn't mean I don't love you!"

I stopped fighting him. "No. It doesn't. I only want you to make a conscious effort to consider that. If you love me, why do you do stuff that you know will hurt me?"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's...I don't know. I don't have answers. It's just...who I am!"

"You're a bastard," I said with a shrug.

His eyebrows furrowed together and he frowned. "I don't think..."

"Yes, you are. You're a pretty selfish one, too."

"But you love me, don't you?"

It was my turn to close my eyes and take a deep breath. "Yes, I do."

"You know, 'cuz you can be a bitch sometimes. A pretty selfish one, too."

I fought it, but I couldn't stop the smile. His expression had softened, and there was almost a smile on his face. "Yeah. We're just the worst two people in the world with an extreme amount of sexual tension that gets along too well."

"I didn't realize we got along at all."

I actually laughed. "You know, you have a point. I don't know. I don't think I have any answers either. I really don't know for sure how I feel about all this. I hate being angry with you, but I am. What's worse is how much I want you even though I'm so pissed."

He cocked his head and answered, "Well, we can fix that."

"But we shouldn't. Not after you told me that. It goes against everything that even slightly resembles a normal relationship."

"Well, if I may say...I don't think we're all that normal."

"Eh..." I thought really hard on the situation. I should be tearing his jugular out, but I wanted something a wee bit more gentle. How wrong. I suddenly became aware of how good he smelled. He just smelled like him, but it was like a freaking drug for me. One of his hands was holding down a leg, and the other was holding down an arm, and as we laid there, his grip lessened. The hand on my leg slid up, loosening my belt. "This is so wrong," I groaned. He just shrugged before leaning down and kissing me. All of a sudden, I forgot how wrong it was.


End file.
